Vlog

Everyday Mom

Points:
– In order to make it easy for kids to keep their rooms and belongings clean and tidy
– That way the have less to worry about, less is laying around, and start simple when giving them responsibility to keep their areas tidy.
– Encourages them to clean up because it’s doable and less overwhelming instead of having a room full of stuff that they can’t fit or put away.

Points:
– We needed something to get in the habit of doing it without reminders.
– We decided at family meeting that we wouldn’t have anything sweet for a whole week if we missed brushing our teeth.
– I didn’t want to have to be the one reminding and catching them, so they started picking up on it and reminding each other. Then it calmed down for a bit.
– Now we do it all together and put a big clock or timer. It helps when they see us getting into it too.

We have a family appreciation board.
– Hang on fridge or bulletin board that is seen by all.
– When there are conflicts, we are reminded to go check the chart and see what the other one wrote about us.
– It’s a positive booster to feel loved.

Parenting tip about getting kids to help out more.
– Help my kids take responsibility for their property.
– I try to stay open to suggestions and proposals from my kids.
– I try to encourage them to come up with solutions.

What I do with getting my kids to participate with working around the house:
– I pick a contribution that I want to focus on for the month.
– Show them how it’s done a few times.
– Then do it along with them till they’re ready to take over.
– If it’s not done very well, it’s OK. They’ll only get better at it.
– I choose to focus on the fact that they’re doing it and not on how well it’s done. Can’t expect a 6 year old to clean as well as I do.

I’m a typical everyday mom, blogging about my parenting lessons and experiences. I’m not an expert, so I won’t be telling you what to, but rather sharing tips that I’ve learned and continue to learn in my parenting. Every kid is different, so my character building or relationship strengthening methods won’t work for every family, but hopefully they will trigger some ideas.

Teaching my kids to manage their allowance and spending cash.
– We started with giving 50 cents for every year of their age.
– My kids are learning to manage their money and budget for 1 week, 2 weeks, and then 1 month.
– We plan family vacation activities together and save in a common family “jar”. (If money is found or personal money is left around the house, it goes into this jar.)
– We help our kids budget and shop for yearly school supplies.

Parenting idea about allowance and budgeting jars:
– Giving my kids a places to put their allowance.
– We use a glass jars so they can separate it into different categories and see the coins add up.
– Give, share or Donate 10% to a charity or church.
– Giving to others helps my kids appreciate what we have and it’s an important financial lesson for them to learn.
– We save 10% for retirement. (Open a savings account with them when the jar fills up.)
– We invest 10% for getting a special toy or more expensive item. (as they get older they’ll learn about long term investment, like a car, house, etc. to show how teach investing is different from delayed spending)
– We put a picture on the jar of what the money is going to.

Talking about allowances with my kids:
– Teaching about allowance as it would work in later life.
– Feeling responsible for conserving energy and resources.
– We prefer having the consequence for bad financial decisions reflect what would be a natural consequence in latter life.
– Making learning about money in a fun way.
– Helping my kids to make wise financial choices and curbing impulse spending.

I love my two kids, and I want to do my best to help them learn moral values, because we believe that it’s the most effective thing that we can do for their overall happiness. I’m not an expert at fathering, but just sharing some of my learning experiences. And I hope that there will be something of value to you.

Some ideas from talking with my children about:
– The family budget (in percentages and using 10 cookies)
– Bringing my kids along for banking while I explain what we’re doing.
– Money and budgeting details are a private topic.